In the early 1990s, two Indigenous authors wrote about their individual experiences of residential schools. Ora Pro Nobis, Pray for Us by Larry Loyie and The Strength of Indian Women by Vera Manuel were staged a decade before Canada apologised for the residential school system, and 15 years before Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Two Plays About Residential School is an updated version in honour of the 20th anniversary, from Indigenous Education Press (Brantford, Ontario).

With honesty, and often humour, the authors reinforce the voices of survivors. “Two Plays About Residential School is essential reading along the path of truth and reconciliation,” says publisher Jeff Burnham, founder of Indigenous Education Press / www.goodminds.com in Brantford, Ontario.

Larry Loyie spent six years at St. Bernard Mission residential school in Grouard, Alberta. His award-winning books include the national history Residential Schools, With the Words and Images of Survivors (Indigenous Education Press) and two children’s books on the subject, As Long as the Rivers Flow (Groundwood) and its sequel Goodbye Buffalo Bay (Theytus).

In Ora Pro Nobis, Pray for Us, the lively friendship of a group of boys help them survive their residential school years. In Larry Loyie’s introduction to the play, he writes, “For Indigenous people, writing helps others understand who we are and what we went through. It’s a way to share our traditions and our healing journeys.” Larry Loyie spent more than two decades talking to students about residential school history, giving more than 1,600 presentations.

In Vera Manuel’s Strength of Indian Women, four elders prepare for a teenaged girl’s coming-of-age feast. As they work together, the women reveal the secrets of their residential school years. Both of Vera Manuel’s parents, political leader George Manuel and spiritual leader Marceline Manuel, attended residential schools. Vera Manuel, a poet, performer and healer, directly experienced the fallout. “I mourned that little girl who never had a childhood,” she writes in her introduction. “I mourn the mother missing from my childhood, and I gave thanks for the mother who became my loving teacher in adulthood.”

Compassion, humour, and hope mark Two Plays About Residential School and the works of Larry Loyie and Vera Manuel. The anthology is a must for all readers, for teachers, libraries, and collections.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is located at University of Manitoba. The website has links to various resources and information. Various projects for educators around Residential Schools and Reconciliation are under the “education” tab on their website. The Project of Heart is one recommended activity that can be adapted for all grade levels.

Click the image above to find all the trc documents and final report. Here is the 94 Calls to Action Document:

In October 2016, Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire formally launched the Secret Path, a book and CD which chronicles the story of Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old boy who died after running away from Residential school in the 1960s.

As part of our ongoing commitment to engage teachers in reconciliation work, the Manitoba Teachers’ Society recently assembled a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers from across the province to discuss and explore the Secret Path and to create lesson and unit plans to support the use of this resource for the teaching about Residential schools in Manitoba classrooms. For a link to the MTS Lesson Plan website, click the image above.

"Out of respect for the Indigenous peoples of Manitoba, we at the Winnipeg School Division recognize the schools we attend reside on Treaty 1 land known as First Nations Territory as well as the Homeland of the Metis Nation".